The first Christians, for the honour of their Martyrs, built Sanctuaries over their tombs and placed their bodies under The High Altar. From this, the custom is taken of placing Relics in The Altar Stone. From Rome, the Veneration of these Martyrs spread throughout The Church. Saint Martin was one of the first Confessors (a Saint, not a Martyr) to whom Universal Devotion was accorded in The West.

The Lenten Station is a Sanctuary on The Esquiline. A holy Priest had given his house to Pope Saint Sylvester to turn into a Church. It was one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century A.D. In the 6th-Century A.D., Pope Saint Symmachus built a new Church, next to the first, on a higher level, and Dedicated both to Saint Sylvester and Saint Martin of Tours. Since a thorough restoration was ordained in the 16th-Century by Saint Charles Borromeo, the Church is called “San Martino ai-San-Monti”.

Portrait of Saint Charles Borromeo

(San Carlo Borromeo).

Artist: Giovanni Ambrogio Figino (1548 - 1608).

Cardinal Archbishop of the Arch-Diocese of Milan (1564 - 1584).

Restored the Basilica of Saint Sylvester and Saint Martin in the 16th-Century.

This Church was chosen wherein to read the Gospel, which speaks of Resurrection, because, In The Name of The Blessed Trinity, Saint Martin raised three persons from the dead; a symbol of the Baptised, who are born to a new life in the name of The Blessed Trinity.

The Epistle and Gospel announce to us the great Mystery of The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is drawing nigh, and in the Celebration of which, at Easter, Public Penitents participated. The Sunamite woman and the widow of Naim had lost their sons. Eliseus, who is a figure of Jesus, raises the first to life and Christ gives back the second to his mother.

This is what God, in His Mercy, will do, in The Holy Sacrament of Penance, for Souls which have died by sin. He restores them to The Life of Grace and gives them back to The Church, their Mother. Let us prepare ourselves for The Easter Confession, which will more abundantly fill our Souls with Supernatural Life.

Let us moderate, by Fasting, our Earthly appetites, in order that we may better enjoy Heavenly things (Collect).

San Martino-ai-Monti, also known as Santi Silvestro e Martino-ai-Monti - Titolo Equizio, is a BasilicaChurch inRome, in the Rione Monti neighbourhood of Rome.

The Basilica was Founded by Pope Saint Sylvester I, over land donated by Equitius (hence the name of Titulus Equitii), in the 4th-Century A.D. At the beginning, it was an Oratory devoted to all The Martyrs. It is known that a Preparation Meeting for The Council of Nicaea was held here in 324 A.D.

The current Church of San Martino ai Monti dates from The Carolingian era, but a 3rd-Century A.D. Pillared Hall has been located below and adjacent to the later Church. This has caused some scholars to identify it with the Titulus Equitii, but, according to Hugo Brandenburg, it is "most unlikely that it could have served as a place of worship for any larger community and its Liturgy: The original purpose of this fairly modest Hall . . . was probably to serve as a storage space for commercial purposes."

In 500 A.D, the Church was rebuilt and Dedicated to Saints Martin of Tours and Pope Saint Sylvester I by Pope Symmachus. On this occasion, the Church was elevated and the first Oratory became subterranean.

Pope Saint Symmachus was Pope from 498 A.D. to 514 A.D. His tenure was marked by a serious Schism over who was legitimately elected Pope by the citizens of Rome.

He was born on Sardinia, the son of Fortunatus; Jeffrey Richards notes that he was born a pagan, and "perhaps the rankest outsider" of all the Ostrogothic Popes, most of whom were members of aristocratic families. Pope Saint Symmachus was Baptised in Rome, where he became Arch-Deacon of The Church under Pope Anastasius II.

The Basilica was reconstructed by Pope Hadrian I in 772 A.D., and by Pope Sergius II in 845 A.D. The structure of the present Basilica follows the ancient Church, and many pieces have been re-used.

The Church is served by The Order of Carmelites (O.Carm. - Ancient Observance). It was granted to them in 1299 by Pope Boniface VIII; their ownership was confirmed in 1559. The Church is the resting place of Blessed Angelo Paoli, O.Carm. (1642–1720), who was revered throughout Rome for his Service to The Poor; he was Beatified on 25 April 2010.

Further transformations were executed in the 17th-Century by Filippo Gagliardi. In the Mid-17th-Century, a series of frescoes, architectural additions, and Altarpieces were commissioned, including landscape and architectural frescoes, of typically Biblical scenes, by Gaspar Dughet and Galgliardi.

There is a fresco, by Jan Miel, of Saint Cyril Baptising a Sultan. Fabrizio Chiari (now overpainted by Antonio Cavallucci) painted a Baptism of Christ. Giovanni Antonio Canini painted an Altarpiece of Holy Trinity with Saints Nicholas and Bartholemew. The mannerist, Girolamo Muziano, painted an Altarpiece of Saint Albert. Galeazzo Leoncino painted a fresco of Pope Saint Silvester I holding The Council of 324 A.D. in San Martino.

Pietro Testa painted The Vision of Saint Angelo, the Carmelite, in The Wilderness. Filippo Gherardi painted an Altarpiece of San Carlo Borromeo. Cannini also painted The Martydom of Saint Stephen. Chiari painted Saint Martin dividing his Cloak with the Beggar. Giovanni Battista Creppi painted "The Vision of Saint Teresa". Matteo Piccione painted the Altarpiece of "Vision of Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi". Paolo Naldini painted the Saints on the Upper Register of the Nave (counter-clockwise starting with first on the Nave, to Right, Ciriaca, Stephen, Fabianus, and Nicander, then Left Nave, Theodore, Martin, Innocent, and Iusta. Daniele Latre painted Saint Anthony and John the Baptist on South Wall (counter-facade), while Naldini painted Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The Interior has three Naves with ancient Columns. A Votive Lamp, made in Silver Sheet, is housed in The Sacristy; it was believed to be the Tiara of Pope Saint Sylvester I. Under The High Altar are preserved the Relics of Saint Artemius, Saint Paulina, and Saint Sisinnius, brought here from the Catacomb of Priscilla. A mosaic, portraying The Madonna with Pope Saint Sylvester I, is from the 6th-Century A.D.